This California
bankruptcy law website will offer basic, general information about
filing bankruptcy in California, including Chapter
7, Chapter 11, and Chapter
13 cases. It will address personal bankruptcy and corporate bankruptcy,
liquidation, insolvency, reorganizations, debt consolidation, credit
after bankruptcy, re-establishing credit, credit card debt, foreclosures,
repossessions, and garnishments, taxes and bankruptcy, discharge of
debts, as well as corporate bankruptcy involving asset liquidation
and reorganization under Chapter 11. Bankruptcy is often misspelled
as bankruptsy, bankrupsy, or bankrupcy, among other versions.

The term "bankruptcy"
itself is defined as being financially unable to pay one's debts as
they become due, or to have more debts than assets. The word derives
from a medieval term meaning "broken table". In towns where
merchants sold their wares on tables, the table of a non-paying or
defaulting merchant would be broken by those with whom he did business.

The Debtor

Bankruptcy is
also the statutory procedure under federal law by which a person,
known as the "debtor" under goes a judicially-supervised
liquidation or reorganization for the benefit of those who are owed
money, known as "creditors", where the debtor is usually
relieved of most of his debts through what is called "discharge".
The debtor's property becomes what is called "the bankruptcy
estate". This federal law is commonly known as "the Bankruptcy
Code". Bankruptcy filings are all done in federal court, thus
ensuring uniformity throughout the United States. Certain variations
do occur from state to state relating to what assets an individual
debtor is allowed to keep ("exemptions"), and as to the
nature and extent of a debtor's property interests and other matters.
Therefore, debtors should consult a local bankruptcy
attorney to ensure the best representation.

Voluntary Bankruptcy

The vast majority of cases are filed voluntarily by the debtor. However,
creditors are permitted to file involuntary bankruptcy cases against
a debtor who is generally not paying his debts as they become due.
These types of cases are much rarer. They require 3 or more petitioning
creditors who are owed a total of at least $10,000.00; if there are
less than 12 creditors in total, then the involuntary petition may
be filed by one creditor who is owed at least $10,000.00.

Please Note: The materials on this site
are informational only, of course, and are not guaranteed to be correct,
complete, or up-to-date. The within information is not intended to
give legal advice upon which you can rely for your particular situation.
If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services
of a competent professional person should be sought. Links to any
other Internet pages are not meant to imply any affiliation. Henry
Rendler has attempted to comply with all known legal and ethical requirements
in compiling this website.